K J Shine, CPM leader and LDF candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Ernakulam, said that she will file a formal complaint against social media posts that had defamatory content about her. Shine had alleged that accounts on social media were circulating posts that tried to defame her and Vypin MLA K N Unnikrishnan.
While speaking to reporters from her residence on Friday, Shine said that the posts originated from a person named C K Gopalakrishnan, who handles the Congress’s social media platform. She alleged that the opposition leader V D Satheesan, was aware that the cyber attack was taking place.
She also claimed that a local Congress leader had told her at a public forum that a “bomb is coming” just two days before the posts were made. “Now I realise what that leader meant,” she added.
On a Facebook post made on Thursday, Shine said, “Kerala society will certainly defeat the worn-out politics of misogyny.”
She said that she had not initially filed a complaint since there was no clear evidence against a specific person. However, later, the posts with images began circulating.
She also said that a newspaper had picked up the defamatory post and amplified the right-wing propaganda.
On those who were responsible for the cyber attack, she said, “No doubt it is from right-wing politics (referring to Congress-led UDF). They are individuals who were caught engaging in such acts. There are good and bad people everywhere, but a corrective measure is not taking place in Congress.” Her husband Dinus alleged that the campaign reflected an erosion of moral standards.
She called the attacks “rotten, cowardly politics”. She added, “ The slander on social media hurts not just one individual mentally and socially, but also their spouse, children, relatives, friends, and colleagues.
MLA KN Unnikrishnan has also filed a complaint with the Chief Minister and the DGP. He said in a press release that the accusations were politically motivated fabrications. Unnikrishnan said that he came across the post two weeks ago and gained traction after an online activist, Shahjahan, spoke about the allegations. He had initially planned to ignore the posts, but decided to make an explanation and take legal action to avoid misunderstandings.
He said, “Defaming leaders of communist parties is a method adopted by right-wing political parties to attack and destroy the communist movement and the Left.”
Shine has filed a complaint with the Chief Minister, DGP, and the Women's Commission.